Community Revitalization at the Town Hall Meeting

I was one of more than 70 people who crowded into the Willits City Council Chambers and spilled out into the hall on Sunday, September 22, for the first of a number of scheduled town hall meetings. The focus of this meeting was "Community Revitalization."

From the very beginning I felt welcomed and cared for. There were healthy snacks awaiting us, greeters to say "hello" and give us name tags,?and added seating in the council chambers to accommodate us.

The program began with initial sharing from Adrienne Moore, Willits City Manager and Alan Falleri, former Willits City Planner. Their comments were inspiring and to the point. No wasted words. That was followed by input from everyone in attendance who wanted to speak. Names were taken and put on a list so everyone knew when it would be there time to speak and it allowed us to relax and listen to others rather than trying to find a time to jump in.

The meeting was ably moderated by Carlin Diamond who kept things moving with a kind and receptive spirit open to all points of view.

I was impressed with the breadth and depth of ideas presented. I'm sure everyone there would have a slightly different experience of what went on at the gathering. For me, there seemed to be a number of general ideas that resonated with most everyone including:

Our Willits community goes beyond the city limits to include the whole 95490 area of people who identify Willits as our home town.

We want to make Willits the healthiest town we can make it including health at a personal, interpersonal, and community level.

We are a diverse town and our identity emerges from the different populations and passions that make up our community.

The Kinetic Carnivale was identified as the kind of activity that represents the best of

Willits with its focus on the past and the future, young people and older people, the railroad, vintage airplanes, and home-made, human driven cars.

There are a number of specific ideas that resonated for me including:

Exploring a rail line or other, non-automobile, ways to get around town.

Connecting Willits and Ft. Bragg with expanded Skunk train services that would allow people to leave their cars and spend time in both communities.

Beautifying Main Street and allowing for more walking to create an interesting "street life."

Expand the route along Baechtel Road as an alternative to all traffic going on Main Street.

Self-sufficiency with food, making things that are needed locally, and sharing our uniquely Willits experience with others.

Expanding on iconic events in Willits including Kinetic Carnivale, Roots of Motive Power, Rodeo, and Willits Walks for Wellness.

It was nice to be with a diverse group of people. I didn't agree with every idea presented, but I was amazed to feel so many great ideas that I could get excited about. Together we can make our community even more wonderful than it is.

Thanks to all who helped organize the meeting.

At future Town Hall meetings working groups will form to help explore many of the most engaging ideas and see how they can be implemented.

The next Town Hall meeting will be held November 17 in the City Council Chambers at 4 p.m. For more information contact Carlin Diamond at 459-4850.